Minneapolis, MN – With hundreds of Palestine supporters packing the city council’s meeting room and the hallway outside for the third time in recent weeks, on January 25 the Minneapolis city council voted to pass a Palestine resolution that’s more progressive than most others around the country.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who opposed the resolution, attended the city council meeting to make an impassioned plea to council members to reject the resolution and instead pass a watered-down substitute resolution brought forward at the last minute by Councilmember Linea Palmisano.

But council members rejected Mayor Frey’s attempt to derail the stronger resolution they had worked on together with grassroots organizations. They voted down Palmisano’s resolution by a vote of 8-4, with one abstention.

After voting that down, they voted to pass the original, stronger resolution by a vote of 9-3, with one abstention.

Now Mayor Frey has five days to decide whether to veto the resolution. If the nine council members who voted for the resolution all stand firm, they would have enough votes to override a veto by Mayor Frey.

After the resolution passed, Palestine supporters celebrated with chants of “Free Palestine!” and held an impromptu rally downstairs from the council chamber. When the council meeting ended, the crowd cheered loudly for the council members who voted for the resolution as they came down the escalator to join them.

Increasing numbers of cities around the country are passing resolutions calling on the Biden administration to advocate for a ceasefire to stop the carnage in Gaza.

The language in the Minneapolis resolution goes further than most other cities’ resolutions in not only calling for a “full, immediate, and permanent ceasefire”, but also calling for an end to U.S. military funding to the state of Israel and for the release of thousands of Palestinians held indefinitely without cause and trial in Israeli military prisons. It also uses the word “genocide” and refers to the 75-year displacement of Palestinians, the unlawful settlements in the occupied West Bank, and the 17-year blockade of Gaza.

The Free Palestine Coalition organized a campaign to press the city council to pass a strong resolution, which generated thousands of calls and emails to council members.

For the next step in the campaign, organizers announced plans on social media for an upcoming rally celebrating the city council’s decision to pass the resolution.

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